Eating on the Night Shift

cranden

This has been a real problem for me. Usually I eat leftovers from dinner or a frozen meal and a side of fruit or a greek yogurt. Its WAY too many calories! I needs some ideas of something that will fill me up for about 300 Calories overnight. I work hard and I'm hungry! I'm a nurse in a hospital. Also, I need something "salty" and something "sweet" to feel satisfied at a meal. Any suggestions for a hearty snack so I can get off the 450-550 calories work dinners?

ericadouglas0412

if the problem is feeling full long-term over the duration of your shift, you need to add something else with protein, like a cheese stick. I also personally find that I don't need the salty&sweet combo so much if I can get some spice in instead, so you may want to try a hot trail mix or something. when I work nights I try to have some chicken, a cheese stick, and a handful of almonds (yogurt covered if available, because dang those things are good).

cranden

Yum yogurt covered almonds....

harlequin0318

A giant salad with grilled chicken - that usually keeps me full for about 4 hours of my night shift. Since im in a psych facility its REALLLY slow at night, for my 8 hour shifts, i only bring two meals and no money so that way i avoid the vending machine. the rest of my intake is water, usually a good 64oz which keep me full (and peeing ALL THE TIME) lol

dieselbyte

Is there a reason you are looking to decrease your calories on your night shift? I would think if you are working hard during this time, you'd want to consume more calories, as long as it fits your overall caloric intake goals.

RodaRose

Can you lower calories during the day so that you eat more at work?

mallory_2014

Why do you need to go for so little calories? As a nurse I am sure you are on your feet a lot and moving around a lot so you will need the calories. Try to lower during the day to have more at night while at work, or change your goals so you have more calories to work with.

Things like salads with chicken can be great. Snack on protein filled foods.

iheartinsanity

I don't see why you need to reduce caloric intake. I would also assume if you're balancing out your meals during the day (and getting a decent amount of sleep during the day) you'd be fine. I personally love ezekiel toast with avacado spread on it with an egg on top. fat+fiber+protein keeps me super full. It's one of those things I'd eat before work though. It can get mushy if you take it to work.

norcalgirl21

I work an 8 hour shift overnight at a hospital too. I work in registration/admitting so I'm sure I'm not moving around as much as you are. I'm also all about working smarter not harder, so what I do is make a big pot of soup at the beginning of the week, portion it out in the fridge and take it for my night time meal (what do you call it when you eat at 3:30am?!) One of my favorites is Turkey and Wild Rice with lots of veggies. I have several flavors I rotate through though. I have an apple as a snack earlier in the night and then a small piece of VERY dark chocolate for dessert after my soup. (I suck on it to make it last longer, lol)
My other tip is counting your night time meal as your "breakfast" on MyFitnessPal and then whatever you eat when you get home before you sleep as your "lunch" (yogurt and granola for me, maybe some bread and butter) and then whatever you eat before your shift as "dinner". This really helps me on the first night of my shift. Otherwise I was "running out" of calories and STARVING because I was counting from sleeping to sleeping as one day and it wasn't working out, especially once I threw my Fit Bit into the mix. So now I do like "regular" people and my day starts over at midnight.

Hope it helps! Sometimes it's hard to diet and exercise as a night owl

cranden

Great tips everyone. I think I will try to spead my calories out over the day better so I can afford to eat more at night. I'm so starving when I get home from work I eat a pretty full breakfast at 8:00 even when I ate at 3:00am. Maybe if I could work a snack in that would help me overnight and then with a lighter breakfast I'll have spread my calories out a little more.

hortensehildegarde

I'm confused by the question/terminology. How is it breakfast if you are eating it after you get home from work and have been up and eating for 8-12 hours at least? What fast are you breaking exactly?

Anyway it seems like night shift would have the same eating timing issues as day shift, unless you are up for 24 hours on the days you are working I guess. Not real sure why it matters if one works 8am to 8pm or 8pm to 8am.

For me I keep a very erratic schedule so I worry more about average calories over a 24 hour period or average for the week. Due to the way I sleep, some midnight-midnight periods (one calendar day) I eat far more or less calories than my "daily" allowance. If this is the same reason you are having an issue I'd suggest looking at your average over the week.

If you are working/sleeping in regular intervals like most people the timing should be working out same is it would for anyone else though I'd imagine and it's just a matter of figuring out how to manage your calories same as anyone who works a regular 9-5 type job.

500 calories for one meal shouldn't be too much for a very active person or one with a lot to lose.

cranden

I do stay up for 24 hours the first night so that is hard. I do track my food from midnight to midnight tracking my overnight meal as breakfast and breakfast as lunch and then dinner as dinner. Anyway I'm satisfied that if I eat some heartier foods at night I should feel more full making a lighter breakfast easier. I see so many girls at work get by on a yogurt or some crackers or some some fruit. I just can't do that.

cannedgoo

I work overnights 2 nights a week and the rest I'm up 8am-11pm, so for me I was running into the same issues on the first day of my overnights, having eaten my breakfast, lunch, and dinner yet still having to be up for another 8-10 hours. What I started doing was going midnight-midnight, and worrying more about my weekly deficit. So what I would eat after midnight, like say 2-3am, I would either count as a snack (if it was). Then since I would sleep during the day I didn't worry about it as much. The most difficult part was categorizing my food...but the food is the same even if its slotted as "lunch" at 5pm!

MadDogManor

Full time night shifter here. I log from midnight to midnight, and have labeled my meals with time (ie: 0000-0400, 0400-0800, etc). I, too, am "starving" by the time I get home at 0800, even after eating salad, protein, yogurt, fruit, and water from 0000 to 0400. I'm thinking of having my night shift meal later - eating a bit later in the morning, if I can (morning runs in hospital lab will probably preclude me from doing that, though). Some nights, like during this current flu season, I've had to choke down food in the five minutes I have between specimens. Good luck to you!

cranden

Eating later sounds like a good thing to try. I usually eat at 0300. Maybe if I could eat at 5:00 I wouldn't be so hungry I need a full breakfast when I get home. Maybe a high Protein snack at 2200 before I come in to help bridge the gaps. Thanks!